TiaMaria, I am sorry you haven't gotten any response yet but it does require a long complicated answer without a lot of information. I am not familiar with JCBakker but they come up as a wholesaler for me. I find it odd that some of the plants you mention are grafted. They are easy enough to root. Are you sure they graft Viburnum, Rose of Sharon, Barberry, Hydrangea? Also it is hard to design an unseen site. There are many variables besides just taste. If you break apart your question and search each one, you will find a lot of material to mull through. Such as "narrow evergreen", I came up with almost 750 hits just here on the GW. Sometimes the answer just comes down to what you like once conditions are considered. And there are always people pushing the ideal conditions and getting away with it. May I suggest you take a day to visit Rare Find Nursery in Jackson? It is not the only place to go, but they have a very interesting selection of plants and its a great place to start. Plants do range in size. Some are too small and I might suggest you stay away from the smallest rhododendron starts unless you really must have something. It takes a while to go through between the offerings and the gardens so don't go when you are in a rush. Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Find Nursery

I've been noticeably absent from all my boards lately and now find that I have a little more time to browse...and found this very timely conversation ;-) Cady and Mel will remember that I've been renovating/restoring my parent's '56 contemporary that had been neglected for almost 25 years (mom had alzehiemer's, dad took care of her, she died he wouldn't let us touch anything, brother is terminal and could care less about fixing or cleaning) Well, the end is in sight ...the house is to be officially listed this Tuesday. I made a marked effort to bring back the landscape to what my mother had planted in the late 50's early 60's ...not strictly due to nostalgia but because my mother had an excellent eye for design and color that spurred my interest in gardening at a very young age. I found the comment on Frank Llloyd, "* Wright originated the visionary concept of a rear living-room opening into a garden terrace -- fifty years before the California architects generally credited with the concept" described my parent's house to a 'T' and we tried to make the most of it - it may not be a Wright but it is certainly '50's California. I thought I'd share a few pictures...I will take all the final photos this weekend when we do all the little nit picky stuff. This is a view of the refloored rear living room and gives you a shot of the windows overlooking the back patio i.e garden terrace pre landscaping - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=342900975105&photoid=501321897105 This is that same back patio Before - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=567043265105&photoid=287043265105 And after After - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=342900975105&photoid=921321897105 We did remove the junipers out front (person loathing involved in that decision) and repeated the fern/fuscia theme my mother had had out back. I'll take photos this weekend. Barbara in Hollywood

First, where do you live? We need to know your climate and therefore if any of these will grow there. If they won't, maybe people here can suggest something comparable in color and form that will do OK in your climate. Image #1: Are you talking about the Dwarf Alberta Spruce? or what looks like a Dogwood? Image #1: small yellow shrubs -- too far away to tell for sure. Could be Goldmound Spirea, could be the new growth on Nandina 'Firepower'. Image #2: Reddish shrub looks like Japanese maple - Acer palmatum dissectum (weeping type). Greenish yellow shrubs -- too far away to tell. Perhaps Spirea, perhaps Euonymus. Or something else entirely. Image #3: too far away to tell for sure. Could be Firepower again (new growth), or Euonymus Emerald 'n' Gold, or Golden Barberry or something else.

I might start looking at nurseries, making lists of who grows what and then taking the time to research on sites such as MOBOT the actual expected sizes and growth rates rather than what the plant tag says. When I went looking for plants, I found that in my rural area I had a quite limited selection of smaller evergreens suitable for foundation plantings, but mail order dwarf evergreens tend to be quite small and take a good amount of time to reach a larger size. Along with conifers, you could also check out PJM group rhododendrons (or the related Aglo and Olga Mezitt) which should all be hardy enough for 4b. Figure out what height you want. You could also consider other types of winter interest if you want some other plants than evergreens, something with interesting winter branches (such as red-twigged dogwood which comes in a range of sizes and also some with variegated leaves) or deciduous winterberry holly which has striking berries for several months in fall and early winter. I also enjoy some of the dried winter flowers such as Hydrangea paniculata and H. arborescens. There's also a conifer forum here that may have suitable suggestions of you tell them you want things likely to be found in a local nursery rather that from a specialist via mail order.